It's Not Magic
by KaariJGib
Summary: Fluffy moment of comfort between Anders and Tanwen Hawke.


Anders found Tanwen in her room, curled up in a ball in the center of the bed. At least he thought it was her. From the doorway where he stood, there was just a round Tanwen-sized lump under the quilt. It couldn't be Barkley because it was too small, and he'd already seen the mabari sleeping in front of the fireplace downstairs.

He approached the bed quietly, and lifted the quilt. Tanwen blinked at him blurrily and then reached out with one hand to pull the cover back down. She gave a little grunting moan and wiggled a little so that the blanket was tucked under her and he couldn't pull it back up unless he wanted to get in a tug-o-war. So he walked around to the other side of the bed, pulled off his coat and boots, and slid under the quilt behind her. He pulled it up over his head too so that it tented over them, blocking out the light from the fire.

"Go 'way," Tanwen mumbled.

Anders only scooted closer so that he could press himself against her back. He still wore his tunic, and she wore a light nightgown, but he could feel the heat of her skin radiating into his chest. She didn't feel feverish, which was a relief. Now he just had to figure out what was wrong. "I thought the idea behind asking me to move in was so that we could share this bed," he said against her shoulder before he planted soft kisses along the blade of bone under her skin.

He tried to wrap his arm around her, but she nudged him away with her elbow, so instead he rested his hand on his hip and propped his head up on his other hand so he could look down at her. "Have I done something wrong, love?" he asked. He cursed the plaintiveness in his voice. He didn't want to sound clingy, although now that he had her, he certainly didn't want to ever let her go.

Tanwen took a deep breath and let it out in a gusting sigh. "No," she said finally. "I just… it's… my time…" she trailed off in obvious mortification.

Anders frowned. Her time? _Oh._ Well that explained a few things, actually. She'd been rather moody for the last few days. And sensitive, and randy, and temperamental. He should have known, really. After all, it was something that he dealt with occasionally as a healer. All the tension went out of his body and he chuckled.

"It's not funny," Tanwen growled, curling in tighter around herself.

"No," Anders agreed with a wide grin that she couldn't see. "I'm sure it's bloody miserable. Pardon the pun."

Still without looking at him, Tanwen reached behind her and slapped at him which only made him laugh more. He caught her hand and entwined his fingers with hers and wrapped his arm around her. She struggled only briefly before relaxing into his embrace. "I feel like I've been stomped on," she said, a slight tremor in her voice. "At least from the waist, down."

Anders resumed the soft kisses on her shoulder. He knew she loved the stubble of his beard, so he rubbed his cheek and chin against her soft skin. Gently so as not to mark her smooth skin. "Sex would make you feel better," He whispered in her ear.

Tanwen made a sound that was mostly disgusted, but slightly amused. "That's gross," she answered. "Ugh… men will say anything to get between a woman's legs, won't they?"

"It's true," Anders defended. He nipped her ear, making her squirm away from his touch with a giggle. Hm… apparently she was ticklish during her monthly cycle. He was tempted to tease her, but he didn't know if she had any daggers hidden within reach and he really didn't feel like healing himself from a knife wound if she decided she didn't like it. "It's a great cure for cramps, and it'll give you energy," he nudged his hips against hers, "which we could then work off."

Tanwen jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow, making him retreat slightly. "Sounds like blood magic," she said suspiciously.

Anders couldn't help it. He rolled onto his back and laughed uproariously. Tanwen uncurled her body and rolled over to glare at him. Their movements tugged the blanket down, so their heads and shoulders were exposed, and when he calmed enough to look at her, the confused and irritated expression on her face set him off again. He held his stomach with one hand, and tried to stifle his laughter with the other, but it took a while to calm down.

When his laughter finally stopped, he grinned into Tanwen's glare. "It's not blood magic, love," he explained. "It works for anyone, mage or no."

"Hmph. Well it's still gross," Tanwen said. She rolled away from him again and pulled her knees up to her chest.

Anders moved closer and began massaging the muscles in her lower back. "I wouldn't mind," he said softly. A soft moan drifted towards him as he sent a tiny flow of healing magic through the tips of his fingers.

"It's gross," Tanwen mumbled. She sounded sleepy, and Anders suspected if she was a cat, she'd be purring and kneading her paws into the mattress.

He scooted close again, and she made a sound of protest when his fingers left her lower back. He wrapped his arm around her, and wiggled his hand down under where she had her thighs pressed to her stomach so that he could spread his fingers over the cloth covering her skin. He sent out another pulse of magic, and she moaned in pleasure as the pain she must have been feeling faded. "Sex is always gross," he teased.

"No," Tanwen said adamantly.

Anders chuckled. "For someone who regularly sticks knives into people, you're being awfully squeamish."

"It's different when it's my own blood," she answered. Her voice was beginning to slur. She began to relax, and uncurled her legs so that she could lie in a more normal position.

He couldn't resist teasing her a little more. "But it's not like you're sticking a knife in yourself. And what I'd be sticking in you is definitely not a sharp object."

"Anders, I swear to the Maker, I will stab you…." Her voice trailed off as she fell asleep.

He smiled, and pressed his face against the back of her neck. A deep inhale pulled the scent of leather and woman into his senses, and he pulled her a little closer. He was exhausted from working in the clinic all day, and his eyes drifted shut. But even in his sleep he held on to the spell that healed his beloved's pain.


End file.
